The most amazing friends in the world

If you are a fan on my facebook page, then you might have seen a post from me yesterday that said this:

I know that some of you live in the greater Wichita area even though I don't know you personally, so I'm going to post this here too. If you can help in any way, please let me know.....

I NEED YOUR HELP!!! I just got a call from a friend, and she is getting custody of her cousin's 3 kids. All boys, ages 4 months, 18 months, and 3 years. They have NOTHING. Her own son is 14, so she has no baby stuff. She is getting beds, but she needs pretty much everything else - crib sheets, blankets, clothes, toys, bottles, sippy cups, baby gates, outlet covers, potty chair/seat - you name it, she probably needs it. I am going to go through my boys' clothes and see what I can come up with, but if anyone has anything else that I can get THIS WEEK please let me know - I need it by Friday.

I posted the same thing on my personal page, as did The Dude, his mother, and a friend of his. I wasn't sure what kind of a response that I'd get, because I know that times are tough right now. I hoped to be able to pick up a few odds and ends for her so that she wouldn't have to be quite so stressed with the transition of getting 3 new babies all at once.

Before I knew it, offers started rolling in - almost faster than I could respond. Friends, friends of friends, even people that I had never met before started posting comments telling me what they had. I started gathering addresses and making plans, and this evening The Dude and I (and Daniel and Alex) went into Wichita and went from one side of the city to the other. All in all, we made 6 separate stops gathering donations.

To put this in perspective: Two of these people were my friends - women who I have met before, been to their houses before....I *know* them. Three of the women are members of a group that I am in - of those three, I had met one briefly before, but I never met the other two until this evening. The last one was a long-time friend of The Dude's, but I had never met this couple.

Out of all of these people, none of them have met my friend. They have no idea who she is. They took the time out of their busy schedules to go through and pack up items that they no longer needed in order to give them to a total stranger.

This....this is what we came home with tonight:

We. aren't. done. yet.

There is more. More offers are pouring in - even now, as I type this. I have another friend from church who is bringing stuff here on Thursday. My neighbor heard what was going on and he added in the big blue bag that is just clothes. More people are willing to help.

I am so incredibly grateful right now, and even a touch overwhelmed. The generosity of strangers is completely and utterly amazing, and I can't thank these people enough for their kindness. Being able to help her like this means everything in the world to me. As I sit here and think back in the not-so-distant past, I remember the generosity of friends and strangers that helped me to get through some of the darkest times in my life, and I feel so blessed to be able to help her when she needs it.

I am amazed. Grateful. Thankful. Overwhelmed. Humbled.

To everyone who has helped, or still wants to help:

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You all are amazing.